Nancy Rothkopf Cantor

It is with deep sadness that we announce that Nancy Rothkopf Cantor died on 24 November 2025, at the age of seventy-eight, after a critical illness and hospitalization. During her weeks in the hospital in Florida, she was comforted by the presence of her children, son-in-law, granddaughter and devoted personal aide, as well as by the good wishes sent by friends and family in the United States, Canada and Germany. Until her dying day, she was looking forward to recovering, to traveling and to spending time with her two children and four grandchildren. Nancy was a force of nature: determined, tenacious and engaged with the world. Her loss leaves an unfillable void in our hearts. It is difficult to contemplate life without her.

Nancy was born in Philadelphia on 26 June 1947, the only child of Hyman and Selma Rothkopf. She lived a full and varied life, marked both by tragedy and joy. Her life was defined by an overriding sense of duty, of responsibility and of what we owe to each other. She gladly did for others and never asked for anything for herself. We hope to honor her values of fairness, forgiveness and generosity, and to instil them in our children.

Nancy graduated from Temple University School of Law and enjoyed a fulfilling legal career in Philadelphia. She served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and also spent many years in private practice. It was through her work as a lawyer that she met her husband, Gilbert M. Cantor, who predeceased her in 1987. Together, they were the authors of Pennsylvania Estates Practice, which Nancy continued to write and update after her husband’s death.

Nancy’s passions included art, politics, travel (especially to the beach) and the Philadelphia Eagles. She debated ideas with rigor, not backing down easily but always being open to compelling arguments. She could and did change her mind. Her values were firm but her opinions never ossified.

Jewish traditions were a source of joy for Nancy. She hosted large Passover seders and traveled to spend the High Holidays with family in Massachusetts, even putting her pug in a bowling bag to sneak him into hotels.

More than anything else, Nancy tended and celebrated family relationships. She honored her parents. She remembered her grandparents. She was always there for her elderly mother-in-law after the death of her husband. She maintained close relationships with her third cousins twice removed. She was constantly on the phone with relatives, traveling to visit relatives or going on vacation with relatives. Nancy’s personal aide, Lou Anne Settle, was a consistent and trusted presence in her later years, greatly contributing to Nancy’s quality of life and her ability to live it on her own terms.

Most of all, Nancy lived for her children and grandchildren. She raised her two children on her own after her husband’s death, while also caring for her aging parents. Even when her children were young, Nancy took their dreams and desires seriously. Sometimes too seriously. But she never dismissed them as a phase or the products of childhood fantasy. She embraced her children’s interests, turning them into shared passions and opportunities for connection. This continued as her children became adults. She shared in their successes, gave advice when they were at a crossroads and celebrated the lives her children built, lives that she was fully part of. She wanted her children to justify their decisions, but she never wavered in her trust in and respect for her children. She treated her son-in-law and daughter-in-law as though they were her own son and daughter, developing deep relationships with them and supporting them as individuals, not just as her children’s spouses. She brought the same enthusiasm and unconditional love to her relationships with her four grandchildren. She fostered each grandchild’s unique personality and had a special bond with all of them. She often said that she wanted her grandchildren to know her. They did. They miss her and will always remember her.

Nancy was preceded in death by her parents and by her husband, the love of her life. She is survived by her daughter, Caitlin Tesler; her son-in-law, Calvin Tesler; her son, Anthony Cantor; her daughter-in-law, Katrin Urschel; and her grandchildren, Gabriella Tesler, Gilbert Urschel-Cantor, Emil Urschel-Cantor and Hannah Urschel-Cantor.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, 28 November 2025, at 1:30PM at Goldsteins’ Rosenberg's Funeral Directors, 310 2nd Street Pike, Southampton, PA 18966, followed by a graveside ceremony at Roosevelt Memorial Park. Please join family and friends afterwards to share memories of Nancy at Maggio's Ballroom at Hampton Square, 400 2nd Street Pike, Southampton, PA 18966.

Shiva will be observed at Nancy’s apartment in Philadelphia and at Caitlin and Calvin Tesler’s home in Margate, NJ. Please contact Caitlin or Anthony for details.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions in Nancy’s memory to Villalobos Rescue Center https://www.vrcpitbull.com or the Southern Poverty Law Center https://www.splcenter.org